Interference of the Heavenly Will

*Boom!* Jiang Qi frowned slightly. Just moments ago, Haojing had shuddered once again. The buildings of Haojing were all magic treasures tempered a thousand times over, and numerous Great Zhou Qi Refiners hovered beside the architecture, engrossed in imprinting various Dao images. It was painstaking, meticulous work. A kui-dragon motif upon a bronze cauldron, for instance, required imprinting the Dao image of a kui-dragon and repeatedly refining it. Only then, when the treasure was activated, would the kui-dragon come vividly to life, endowed with its full might. The phoenixes on window lattices had to be imprinted with the Dao image of a phoenix; the chi-dragons beneath eaves, the immortals on rooftops, the coiled dragons on pillars, and the cloud patterns across the stone floors all required Qi Refiners to tirelessly imprint distinct Dao images, striving for perfection and flawlessness. Yet the tremors rocking Haojing frequently caused them to make mistakes. Lately in particular, these tremors had grown increasingly frequent and violent. *Thud!* Another dull boom sounded through the city. Along the fortress walls of Haojing, countless imprinted Dao images surfaced, glowing brighter and brighter as they dispersed the terrible surging force in all directions. "Are they still at it?" Jiang Qi summoned Grand Coachman Gongyang Ce and inquired. "Still fighting," Gongyang Ce replied. Jiang Qi was silent for a moment before saying, "Go press Heavenly Artisan Zhu. Once she finishes repairing the bell, send it over at once and get him out of here as well. If this drags on too long and something goes amiss with Haojing..." A look of worry crossed his face as he gazed toward Xu Ying's residence. There, amidst Haojing, a sea of vital blood hovered in midair, bathing half the city in a crimson glow. With another thunderous *boom*, that vast expanse of vital blood vanished abruptly. Moments later, the blood reappeared in surging abundance, drifting through the sky once more. That was Xu Ying's vital blood. Each time it surged into the heavens, it manifested an anomaly born of him driving his vital blood with all his might. The moment his strike was unleashed, the blood stored within that anomaly would explode outward in an instant alongside his fists and kicks. The sheer destructive force of those strikes was enough to shake Haojing, lighting up the Dao images across half the city to withstand the impact. Gongyang Ce was the great Qi Refiner who had suspended a bronze sword from a ridge inside the Mount Li Mausoleum and slaughtered countless foes. His mastery of Dao methods and divine powers was extraordinarily profound. He said, "When I went to observe, he was honing his martial dao." Adopting a firm, steady stance, Gongyang Ce mimicked Xu Ying's posture, going through the motions of punches and kicks. "When he unleashes his strikes, he mobilizes every ounce of his power—the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body, the Five Sacred Peaks immortal mountains, the furnace vessel, and the Golden Core are all driven simultaneously! He performs no visualization whatsoever, merely seeking to fuse the powers of these disparate systems into one." "No visualization whatsoever?" Jiang Qi was astonished, his brows knitting in confusion. "Without visualizing the image of the Great Dao, how can he bring forth any power?" Gongyang Ce threw a punch with all his strength, maintaining no visualization and forming no meditative visions, yet he could only manage to unite his Primordial Spirit with his physical body. With that single blow, he could not unite the Five Peaks, let alone mobilize the full power of his Heavenly River, Heavenly Mountain, Twelve Storeyed Pavilions, and other cultivation realms! Not to mention, Xu Ying also had to channel the power of the six secret depositories, infusing their might into his fists and kicks with every blow. One could only imagine how staggering the difficulty must be! "In the beginning, it was exceedingly difficult for him to mobilize all his strength. When the various powers clashed, the backlash recoiled onto him," Gongyang Ce said. "Yet his physical body is so formidable that it withstood the backlash." Jiang Qi's heart shook. He knew well the terror of backlash; the stronger one's cultivation and the higher one's realm, the greater the recoil. The mortal body was frail and short-lived. Even a Qi Refiner's flesh could hardly withstand the violent surge of magic power—especially for those cultivating orthodox methods, whose magic power was far mightier! There were indeed Qi Refiners who cultivated purely in the martial dao, but reaching advanced realms was nearly impossible. When relying solely on martial arts, no mortal body could bear such an overwhelming onslaught of magic power! Never mind a divine spirit's golden body; even an indestructible vajra form would be pounded into mush! Yet Xu Ying's flesh had clearly withstood the violent surge of yuan qi! Only by enduring the backlash without dying could one experiment again and again, unifying more and more power! "This only proves that his physical body has grown stronger," Jiang Qi said. "The stronger his flesh, the more power he can unleash when channeling the images of the Great Dao." Gongyang Ce replied, "When I went to see him just now, he was in the middle of abolishing the images of the Great Dao he had visualized in the past." Jiang Qi was shaken to the core, blurting out, "Abolishing the images of the Great Dao?! Does he intend to become a pure martial brute? He has lost his mind—he has fallen into qi deviation! If he uses neither spells nor divine powers, can he even be called a Qi Refiner?" He shook his head. Neglecting spells and divine powers to delve solely into fist and foot techniques was the very definition of putting the cart before the horse! Whether Qi Refiners or Nuo masters, whether visualizing Dao images or condensing Hidden Scenery, their purpose was always to solidify the Dao and refine it into the body. Take Yuan Qi, for instance. Once a python like him awakened his bloodline, he was by nature an image of the Great Dao, harboring the power of the Great Dao within him. A Qi Refiner could observe Yuan Qi down to the finest detail, visualize him with divine consciousness, and nourish the concept with vital blood, thereby storing Yuan Qi's Dao image within their Realm of Xiyi. Whenever the Qi Refiner needed to invoke a divine power, they could drive the Dao image of Yuan Qi with their magic power, manifesting a giant serpent that would soar out of their Realm of Xiyi to kill their foes! That was the essence of Dao methods and divine powers! What truly wrought power within a divine power was never the Qi Refiner's vital blood, but the image of the Great Dao! Without the image of the Great Dao, a Qi Refiner's yuan qi was nothing more than a bundle of extraordinary mortal energy! Thus, Xu Ying discarding his visualized Dao images was nothing short of madness! Even the simplest, most fundamental martial arts required visualization to unleash true might! "He has gone mad. He is completely out of his mind!" Jiang Qi muttered. Gongyang Ce sighed. "I thought the same, Grand Preceptor." With heavy expressions, both men looked toward Xu Ying's dwelling. Another colossal *boom* rang out, and across the houses, walls, and roads of Haojing, various imprinted Dao images flickered to life, wandering and dissipating in all directions. The power of this strike was distinctly greater than the last. Jiang Qi's face grew somber. "This makes no sense, does it? Without visualizing Dao images, his strikes shouldn't possess such terrifying strength!" Gongyang Ce looked even more troubled. "I was thinking the exact same thing." Jiang Qi muttered, "He will soon realize that this is a dead end, an impassable road. He will return, just like us and the Nuo masters, to pick up the Dao images anew and visualize them once more." Gongyang Ce nodded heavily. "I think so too." Full of gloom, the two watched as Xu Ying's vital blood gathered into an ocean in midair, then suddenly erupted with all its force, completely consumed in a single strike! *Boom!* Haojing jolted. Jiang Qi raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear that sound?" Gongyang Ce nodded gently. "It was a Dao resonance born from the wind of his fist." Jiang Qi asked, "Without visualizing a Dao image, how could he produce a Dao resonance?" "Grand Preceptor, I share the same question," Gongyang Ce said. Jiang Qi ventured a guess. "Could it be that he integrated the Dao resonances he learned and comprehended in the past into his martial strikes, using them to enhance their power?" "I suspected as much as well," Gongyang Ce said. Jiang Qi offered a strained smile. "In any case, he has not exceeded the bounds of our understanding." Gongyang Ce nodded. "I feel the same." Jiang Qi glanced at him and saw that his brows remained tightly knitted. Yet even without looking into a mirror, Jiang Qi knew his own face was just as weighed down with gloom. A mere Dao resonance could not fully explain the devastating power residing within Xu Ying's fist techniques. *Boom!* Another deafening crash sounded, and Jiang Qi saw something fly into the air. Focusing his gaze, he realized it was a bronze-and-iron wall that Xu Ying had shattered clean through. Jiang Qi sighed and turned to Gongyang Ce. "We cannot allow him to continue. Haojing was forged with the collective might of our entire Great Zhou nation, destined to ascend to the Immortal Realm in the days ahead. If he damages it, who knows how long it will take to repair?" Gongyang Ce asked cautiously, "Grand Preceptor, can a divine city that can be damaged by the mere fists of a Cross-Refinement stage Qi Refiner truly carry us through the heavenly tribulation and into the Immortal Realm?" Jiang Qi's face darkened, and he said nothing. Seeing his reaction, Gongyang Ce dropped the topic and set off toward Xu Ying's quarters. Halfway there, a strange buzzing noise suddenly rang in his ears, and the bronze sword at his waist began to rattle inside its scabbard. The gentle breeze that had been blowing moments before died away unnoticed. Gongyang Ce walked forward, finding it somewhat hard to breathe, and tugged at his collar. Not far away, a Great Zhou Qi Refiner who had been imprinting Dao images slammed his container of gold lacquer onto the ground and cursed at his companion, shouting, "Are you picking a fight on purpose? You ruined my imprint! And this isn't the first time!" His companion flared up with fury as well, shouting back, "I didn't do it on purpose! You keep finding fault with me—are you targeting me?" The first Qi Refiner suddenly summoned his flying sword and ran his companion through. Pulling the blade free, he raised it high with both hands and hacked into the corpse again and again, his face twisted in malice. "So you finally caught on! Then die!" By the time Gongyang Ce walked past, the Qi Refiner had already hacked his companion into mincemeat. As if long accustomed to such sights, Gongyang Ce continued toward Xu Ying's residence. At a street corner, two craftsmen were locked in a bloody brawl, battered and bleeding profusely, yet still beating each other mercilessly. One screamed, "Why did you glare at me?!" The other roared, "You're too damn loud! I've been sick of your voice for ages!" Gongyang Ce turned a blind eye, feeling an irritating restlessness bubble up within his own chest: *We were minding our own business restoring Haojing, but that Xu fellow barged in, stalled our work, and even wrecked the city. He deserves to die! How are we supposed to report back to the Son of Heaven of Zhou...* *Report back? To hell with reporting back!* A sinister gleam entered his eyes. *In for a penny, in for a pound—why not slaughter the Son of Heaven of Zhou and make myself emperor? But before killing the Son of Heaven, I'll butcher that troublemaker Xu first!* Before he realized it, war cries were echoing all around. The craftsmen who had been diligently repairing Haojing moments ago were now taking up arms and mercilessly slaughtering their comrades. Arriving outside Xu Ying's residence, Gongyang Ce could barely restrain his murderous intent, his hand creeping onto the hilt of his sword. His original sword had been destroyed by Xu Fu in the Mount Li Mausoleum. His current blade had been newly forged by the condemned artisan Zhu Chanchan; it was far superior to his old bronze sword, and its power was even greater than before! Right then, Jiang Qi appeared beside him, pressing a single finger against his hilt. Gongyang Ce tried to draw the blade, but could not budge it. Just as he was about to lash out violently, Jiang Qi's Primordial Spirit manifested behind him, seated in the void with hands clasped like interwoven ropes, forming the Dao Heart Binding Seal to steady his mind. With his Dao heart restored to clarity, Gongyang Ce gasped in shock, cold sweat drenching his brow. "What... what is happening?" he whispered. "Interference of the Heavenly Will," Jiang Qi said, looking toward Xu Ying's residence with a grave expression. "The Heavenly Dao has descended upon this courtyard." He whispered, "Heavenly gods shouldn't be able to descend directly. If they descend in full, returning to the Heavenly Dao world becomes exceedingly difficult..." Possessing the Tianzhu sword, he possessed an intimate understanding of the Heavenly Dao's interference. The Heavenly Dao was a Dao that mortals were never meant to comprehend. When ordinary mortals heard the voice of the Heavenly Dao, they fell into wild madness. Even Qi Refiners were often no exception. As the saying went, the Heavenly Will was unfathomable. When mortals caught wind of the Heavenly Dao, they could never bear the vast, chaotic information it carried, tumbling into frenzy as their inner desires were magnified countless times beyond control. What was wicked was not the Heavenly Dao, but the human heart. Even Xu Ying, capable of deciphering Heavenly Dao runes, could not resist the Heavenly Will and would be affected. Even extraordinarily powerful Qi Refiners could usually do no more than guard their own Dao hearts against corruption. Jiang Qi, for instance, relied on his sheer reason to resist the encroachment of the Heavenly Dao and maintain his composure. That was also the very reason he had been able to claim the Tianzhu sword in the past. "Grand Preceptor, look!" Gongyang Ce looked up, his voice trembling with suspicion. Jiang Qi lifted his head. In Xu Ying's courtyard stood an ancient mulberry tree, and nestled among its branches was a stone statue only as tall as a child. The statue was crudely carved, its limbs barely rough outlines, its inverted brows lending it a savage and menacing countenance. The statue sat motionless, devoid of any vitality. Suddenly, the triangular head turned like a puppet's, looking downward. At the same moment, Zhu Chanchan, who had been repairing the bronze bell, violently slammed her hammer to the ground and cackled, "I'm done pretending! Today, your granny is going to refine every last one of you into my magic treasures! When I was fixing Lord Bell, I branded my mark right inside his crown loop!" Yuan Qi suddenly lashed out with his tail, coiling around her neck and shouting, "You witch! Did you put a mark on me too? You want to control Seventh Master? Seventh Master is going to strangle you to death today!" The half-repaired bronze bell flew into the air as well, sneering coldly, "Once I finish off both of you today, Master Ying's favor will be mine alone!" The dim-sighted Jin Buyi raised his brows and lifted his right wing, pinning them down so firmly that none of them could move. The old bird raised his head, placed his other wing to his beak in a shushing gesture, and whispered, "Guests have entered the city. These fellows are quite extraordinary... and my sabers are almost here..." Just then, even Jin Buyi's expression shifted. "Not good. There seems to be more than one!" Outside the residence, Jiang Qi gently rested his hand on Tianzhu, thinking to himself, *So it's the stone statues of Guizai Ridge. That place is an ascension site; every night, many heavenly gods descend upon the Palace of Heavenly Gods to guard the great tomb of Mount Jiuyi. A mere single statue poses no threat to me...* Just as he was about to strike, another stone statue poked its head out from the canopy. Then, one statue after another materialized out of thin air upon the mulberry tree. Like mushrooms sprouting in a forest after a torrential downpour, they popped out one by one. In no time, over three hundred stone statues had emerged across the branches! "The Three Hundred and Sixty Heavenly Gods of the Zhou Sky!" Unable to hold back any longer, Jiang Qi drew Tianzhu. Across the courtyard, Jin Buyi summoned his twin divine sabers, beating his wings as he lunged toward the mulberry tree. All at once, the space before them twisted, and the mulberry tree vanished alongside the entire courtyard! Where the residence once stood, nothing remained but bare ground! In the distance, Beichenzi and the Shenzhou Earth God watched the spectacle, moved nearly to tears. One tall and one short, they slapped their palms together in a resounding high-five, unable to conceal their ecstatic joy. "We did it!"